Come and discover the people in Whitchurch who were connected to the War and the impact it had on their lives.
If you would like more information on the War, please visit the town museum who kindly provided all information for this leaflet.
Discover more about World War 1 in Shropshire at www.shropshireremembers.org.uk
John Edgar Young of Richmond House, Station Road was born in 1874. He became a veterinary surgeon and enrolled for service in 1914. He was awarded the Military Cross for an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy. He also received the Victory Medal, The British Medal and 1914 Star.
Josephi Fulgoni lived at 9 Green End where he also had a fish and chip shop. In August 1914, due to his Italian nationality he was the victim of malicious gossip with regards to his behaviour in respect of the war. He was so incensed by these slanderous comments that he wrote to the local paper and offered a reward of £5 to anyone who could identify those responsible so that legal action could be taken against them.
Andrew Umphray Moffat of the Manse, Dodington, was born in 1882 in Wells, Shetland Isles. Andrew became minister of the Congregational Church in Dodington. He enlisted as a private in February 1916 but was later given a commission and was stationed at Grantham for six months before being sent to France and then on to Belgium. Besides holding services for the soldiers whenever and wherever he could, he censored letters sent home by the soldiers and also had to write letters to the families of the dead and injured. In December 1916 he was moved on to Macedonia where he stayed until the autumn. He then moved to Egypt, a country he thought was wonderful. Although he had originally signed up for one year's service he was compelled to serve a full second year or until the war ended. He was not sorry to do so as he considered it his duty to be there for the soldiers.
Rose Beckett lived in The Bungalow, Dodington. Rose was a cook at Broughall Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital and served from January 1915 to January 1916.
Leonard Richard House of 26 Wrexham Road, was born on 4th January 1899 in Harlesden, north London. After school he worked as a bank clerk in Essex. Leonard was a Quaker and therefore a conscientious objector. He attended a military tribunal in Cambridgeshire and was declared exempt from military service on condition he joined the Friends Ambulance Service. This he did and his parents George and Gertrude House, who lived in Whitchurch, had to purchase a kit, i.e. a uniform. Leonard arrived in Boulogne on 23rd October 1917 as a cook and served in France until he was demobilised on 13th February 1919.
John Richard Heatley lived at 8 Oddfellows Terrace, Smallbrook Road. He was born in 1863, married Anne Cartwright in 1904 and was employed as a solicitor's clerk prior to the war. He volunteered for work at Broughall Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital where he was an orderly and Quartermaster from 1915 to 1919.
John German Harrison, Captain of Cloverfields, Chester Road, was born in 1891, the eldest son of John German and Emma Harrison. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, studied music in Berlin and America. On his return to England in January 1915 he was commissioned into the army. John was captain of a mortar battery unit and was well liked and respected by all fellow soldiers and officers. He was killed in action on 4th April 1918. He is buried at St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France.
Brian Harrison, Second Lieutenant of Cloverfields, Chester Road, was the second son of John and Emma Harrison and was educated at Chester and Shrewsbury Schools. After leaving school he worked in the London and Northern Western Railway Company district superintendent's office in Lime Street, Liverpool, after which he joined his uncle's firm in Birmingham. He obtained a commission with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in January 1915 and served in France. He was killed in action on 10th July 1916 and is buried at Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz, France.
